


The Hairless Cat of the Kingdom of Achu

by Hessy



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya learns not to invade privacy, Episode: s01 Animan, Gen, Missing Scene, Post-Animan, Season 1, near-close identity reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:55:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29386629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hessy/pseuds/Hessy
Summary: [post-Animan] When Alya overhears Marinette talking to Tikki, she naturally has to go ask who is the secret person Marinette's talking to
Relationships: Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	The Hairless Cat of the Kingdom of Achu

**Author's Note:**

> I was rewatching season 1 and it struck me as odd, that Marinette's talking to Tikki and Alya can hear everything through the earpiece. It's actually my first work in the fandom and English isn't my first language, so I hope it'll be fine ^^

When Nino finally said goodbye to the girls, Alya took Marinette by the shoulders. The dark-haired girl had no idea what this was about - she thought that she had already apologized for promising to set her and Nino up. 

“Girl, I need to talk to you,” Alya said, bringing Marinette past her parents and upstairs to her room. 

“Alya, I already told you I’m sorry,” she started but was interrupted by her friend. 

“This isn’t about the date thing,” she said, making Marinette shiver. Did something happen? 

The girls came up into Marinette’s room. The photos of Adrien adorned the walls and the computer was switched off as Marinette had been heading out before meeting Alya and Nino in front of the bakery. 

Alya let go of her and took the computer chair, pushing it closer to the pink chaise. She sat down and motioned for Marinette to do the same. Her friend did so, a feeling of dread settling in her stomach. She had no idea what this was about and Alya’s silence terrified her even more. Alya was usually talkative, not silent just like now. 

Finally, her friend broke the silence. 

“Marinette, who’s Tikki?” Alya asked, leaning forward in the chair. 

A drop of sweat slid down Marinette’s back. She held her arms up in defense. 

“T-Tikki? I… Alya, I’ve never heard that name-”

“Don’t lie to me, Marinette,” Alya snapped, her expression dead serious. Marinette shut up. Her brain, however, didn’t.

_ How can Alya know? I was so careful _ , she thought, panic settling into her mind. 

“H-how?” she asked. On one hand, she was genuinely curious, on the other, she was trying to come up with an excuse that she could use to throw Alya off her, or Ladybug’s, trail. 

The young reporter opened her mouth in disbelief. Marinette seriously didn’t know? 

“Girl, we’ve been in the zoo, right? Before the akuma attack?” She watched as Marinette nodded cautiously, the feeling of dread rising. 

“You were waiting for Nino and Adrien and we were talking, you know? The earpiece?” 

Marinette suddenly thought of Tikki asking her how Adrien can be the love of her life when she can’t even talk to him. But… that wasn’t possible, was it? Tikki has told her that kwamis can’t be seen or heard on a camera. That should apply to the earpiece as well. As far as Alya was concerned, she shouldn’t have heard Tikki talking. So why… 

Marinette paled. Because it wasn’t Tikki who Alya heard. It was just her. The fateful sentence. 

_ “Stay out of sight, Tikki,” _ Marinette had hissed when urging the kwami back into her purse. That’s what Alya must’ve heard. There was no getting out of this one, she knew. 

Alya gave her a strict look. 

“You couldn’t have been talking to anyone, there was literally no one, I was looking!” Alya mused aloud, not noticing Marinette’s panicked face. 

“You were talking to your purse,” she said, her eyes fixing on her friend’s accessory. Instinctively, Marinette took the purse into her hands, determined not to show Alya. 

“Girl, come on, let me see. Don’t be a pushover, Marinette,” Alya stood up, snatching the purse out of Marinette’s grasp. However, the girl’s grip remained strong. 

“Alya, I can’t show you,” Marinette said, her panic rising. She had no excuses prepared, and if yes, they were all lame. The redhead raised an eyebrow. 

”Then it must be a Ladybug level secret,” she remarked, making Marinette go pale once more. 

The girl giggled nervously. 

“L-Ladybug? Why… Why do you say that? I have nothing there,” she reached with her hand to scratch the back of her neck. A fatal mistake. With one pull, Alya had her purse. 

“Aaaah!” Marinette screamed. For a moment, Alya looked at her as if she had gone completely mad. Then, the baker’s daughter composed herself. 

“Okay, Alya, you win! I… I f-found a… a cat! A stray cat!” Marinette blurted out the first excuse that came to her mind. Alya blinked in confusion. 

“A… cat?” she asked, dumbfounded. Marinette nodded. At least she had Alya’s full attention now. She let out a relieved sigh, but the battle was still on. 

“You see, she’s all hairless and I… I found her when… when I was on my way to the zoo,” she rambled. She was glad for once that the two of them didn’t meet up at the bakery but rather in front of the zoo entrance. Alya had to go home to fetch the earpieces. 

“I couldn’t just leave her there, Alya. It’s just a small kitten,” she said, digging her grave even deeper. She knew there was no way a real cat would fit into her purse. 

She could already see Tikki scoffing at the idea of being called a cat, but Marinette fully hoped that she’d forgive her. For the sake of her secret identity. That was the utmost priority, Tikki could complain about the insult later. 

Marinette continued: “And you know how it is with my parents. No pets in the bakery. But I just couldn’t resist. Please don’t tell my parents.” 

She could see that Alya totally wasn’t buying into it. The reporter narrowed her eyes. 

“Are you going to tell me that you kept your cat in your purse where she can suffocate easily?” she asked, bewildered. Marinette looked at her, a slight fear in her eyes. She knew Alya wouldn’t stop at anything to get the truth out of her. It happened when she accidentally deleted her video of Ladybug too. In the end, Marinette had to tell her the truth, and this case was similar. Or, at least, it was a very similar scenario. She was in a corner.

“Let me see this cat of yours,” Alya said, trying to see how to open the purse. 

Marinette sighed. 

“Alya, that’s my purse, please get it back. I promise to show you the cat one day,” she said in the last attempt.

Alya looked down at the purse, at Marinette, and did the only right thing. Returned the purse to its owner. She had learned enough not to invade other people’s privacy when she was akumatized. Marinette let out a relieved sigh when she took her purse back and set it carefully on the chaise next to her. 

“I’m sorry, Marinette,” Alya said. “I so wanted to know the truth that I invaded your privacy.” She hung her head. It seemed that she indeed did learn something from her brief time as an akuma. 

The dark-haired girl gave her a slight smile. 

“It’s okay, Alya. Thanks for not pushing the topic,” she said, glad that her secret identity wouldn’t be revealed anytime soon (hopefully). 

Her friend smiled. 

“I do hope to meet this Tikki one day though,” she said, trying hard to sound normal and not let disappointment seep into her voice. 

Marinette nodded. 

“You will one day, I promise.” Preferably one day in a very distant future when she and Chat Noir will have defeated Hawkmoth. Only then she’d consider revealing herself to Alya. 

Her reporter friend stood up. 

“Well then, this is cleared… I gotta go study for the chemistry test tomorrow,” Alya said, going to the trap door. “See you, Marinette!” 

With a slight wave of her hand, she was gone. 

Marinette had exactly one second to relax before she clasped her head. 

“The chemistry test tomorrow!” 

Tikki finally floated up next to her, then sat on her desk. 

“Whew, that was a close call,” she sighed. “But I’m proud of you, Marinette. You managed to protect your secret identity.” 

Marinette stopped in her panic about the test and smiled. She came closer and took Tikki into her hands and gently kissed the top of her head. 

“It certainly was. And knowing Alya, she might not stop at that. I’ll have to be extra careful,” she remarked, throwing a half-glance to the room’s entrance as if she counted on Alya being just behind the trap door. 

Tikki smiled. 

“But for now, you’re safe,” she said in a high tone. Marinette smiled. 

“That I am, Tikki,” she said, then thought for a second. “And sorry for calling you a cat.”

Tikki smiled brightly. 

“Meow!” 


End file.
